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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. bound — certain
  3. bass — the fish
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. mate — a friend
  6. wound — an injury
  7. content — happy
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. bound — obliged
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. bound — tied together
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. squash — the sport
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. mine — for digging
  16. mate — a partner
  17. squash — to crush
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. bass — low music
  20. shower — to wash
  21. wound — an injury
  22. mate — to breed
  23. content — the amount
  24. bass — the instrument

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com